Clutch-operating mechanism.



H. L. TURNEY. CLUTCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLIO'ATION FILED MAY 9. 1908.

91 4,536 7 Patented Mar; 9, 1909.

3 SHBBTS-SHEBT 2.

23 Wag Elnvant H. L. TURNEY. CLUTCH OPERATING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 9, 1908. 91 4,536, Patented Mar. 9, 1909.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

' upon the thrust pin HARRY LEON TURNEY, OF PORTLAND, OREGON.

CLUTCH-OPERATING MECHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 9, 1909.

Application filed May 9, 1908. Serial No. 431,961.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, HARRY L. TURNEY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Portland, in the county of Multnomah and State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Clutch-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to friction clutch mechanisms or mechanism for op erating friction clutches and it consists in the novel construction and arrangement of its parts as hereinafter shown and described.

The object of the invention is to provide a mechanism of novel construction which is adapted to effectually engage and disengage the members 01 a friction clutch by imparting to one of the members a thrust movement to engage the other member.

The operating mechanism, generally stated, consists primarily in a longitudinally movable thrust pin which is located in alinement with a fixed abutment. The abutment is exteriorly screw threaded and a threaded member is interposed between said abutment and pin. The threads upon the abutment and member are oppositely disposed, that is to say, one of them is a right hand thread while the other is a left hand thread. An internally threaded sleeve is arranged to engage the threads of the said abutment and member and is provided upon its exterior with a pinion or gear portion which intermeshes with gear racks provided upon longitudinal y movable piston rods.

Yylinders are arranged at opposite sides of a casing which contains the mechanism above described and pistons are arranged for reciprocation in the said cylinders and are attached to the said piston rods. Means is provided for admitting a fluid under pressure into the cylinders at the opposite sides of the said pistons whereby the said pistons are moved and through the said piston rods and gear pinion the sleeve is rotated. During the rotation of the sleeve it moves longitudinally along the abutment and as the member which is interposed between the abutment and the thrust pin is held against rotation the said member moves longitudinally with the sleeve and also moves longitudinally relative to the sleeve. The sum of these two move merits of the said member is transmitted to the thrust pin. An advantage gained by this arrangement is that no amount of stress can have any effect in reversing the movement above described as the parts are so arranged as to positively re main locked in any position of advancement of the thrust pin and the said pin can retract only as a result of the member located between the pin and the abutment being withdrawn by the admission of fluid pressure into the cylinders at the opposite sides of the pistons from those to which the pressure is applied to advance the said member.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a sectional elevation of a clutch with the clutch operating mechanism connected therewith. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the clutch operating mechanism. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the clutch operating mechanism cut on the line 3, 3 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the clutch operating mechanism cut on the line 4, 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the clutch operating mechanism. Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of a valve for controlling the pressure iluid supplied to the clutch operating mechanism. Fig. 7 is a plan view of said valve. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 are bottom views of a valve disk used in the said. valve and illustrating the same in three ditlerent positions. Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing the under side of said valve disk. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the bottom of the valve casing, and Fig. 13 is a perspective view of portion of one ol the piston rods used in the clutch operating mechanism.

The clutch operating mechanism is especially designed to be used in connection with logging or hoisting engines wherein winding drum a is loosely mounted on a shaft 1) to which is keyed or otherwise secured a driving gear 0. Said gear carries an annular friction ring d which is arranged to be engaged by the tapered walls of an annular groove 6 formed. at one end of the drum, and the drum and gear are normally separated by means of an expansion spring f. One end of the shalt is rovided with a diametrically disposed slot through which extends cross key that is arranged to operate against a collar 71., the collar bearing against one end of the winding drum a. The cross key is engaged by a thrust pin i and when the latter is moved in the direction of the key, the key presses against the collar 71 and the latter shifts the winding drum longitudinally of the shaft until the drum is clutched to the gear wheel, so that rotative movement will then be imparted from the gear wheel to the winding drum. When endwise pressure on this cylindrical contour.

7 portion 19.

thrust pin 01 is removed, the rates the drum from the gear mit unwinding.

The present invention relates to means for actuating the thrust pin t'. The cap 1 is screw threaded. upon the end of the shaft 1) and is internally threaded and adapted to engage the thread 2 of the casing 3. Said cap is split at one side as at 4 and is spring f sepawheel to perapart. The bolt 6 clamped in casmg 3. cap upon the casing the shaft casing so that as the annulus d The opposite end of the casing a head or abutment plate 7.

of the pin 9 which passes transversely through the inner portions of the said plate and the end portion of the member 8. That part of the member 8 which lies beyond the inner wall of the abutment 7 is substantially cylindrical and is screw threaded as at 16 The extreme end portion of the said member is diametrically reduced as at 11 andis also of The member 12 is interposed between the fixed member 8 and the end of the thrust pin i. Themember 12 is provided upon its exterior with a thread 13 which is disposed opposite to the thread 10 upon the member 8, that is to say, the thread upon the member 8 is what is generally known as a left hand thread while the thread upon the member 12 is what is known as a right hand thread. The end portion of the member 12 is provided with packing rings 14 which operate against the wall of an orifice provided in the end of the casing 3. The member 12 is held against rotation by means of a cross pin 15 which is adapted to slide laterally between the lugs 16 mounted at the end wall of the casing 3. The inner end of the member 12 is provided with a concentric recess which snugly receives the reduced portion 11 of the member 8. The sleeve 18 is internally threaded with threads to correspond with the threads 10 and 13 and the threads of the said sleeve engage the threads upon the said members. Said sleeve is provided upon its exterior with a pinion orgear The cylinders 20 are located at opposite sides of the casing 3 and the pistons 21 are mounted for reciprocation in the said cylinders. Each piston is provided with a piston rod 22 which is provided at one side with a gear rack 23. The said gear racks mesh with the pinion 19 at opposite sides thereof and the piston rods 22 are arranged provided upon the end provided at the opposite side of 1 the said split with the lugs 5 which are spaced i passes through the said lugs and when tightened up slightly reduces 1 the diameter of the cap 1 which becomes fixed position upon the end of the By means of so mounting the said j b may be ad- 5 justed longitudinally with relation to the wears the gear I 0 may be moved toward the said casing whereby the said wear is compensated for. I '3 is closed by 5 The member 8 is fixed with relation to the plate 7 by means r to move between the guides 24 which in turn are mounted at the sides of the casing 3. The steam pipe 25 extends through the stufiing box 26 provided upon the plate 7 and communicates with the steam passages 27 which in turn communicate with the outer end portions of the cylinders 20. Within the steam pipe 25 is arranged a second-steam pipe 28 that communicates with the passages 29 which in turn communicate with the inner ends of the cylinders 20. Thus it will be seen that when steam or other fluid under pressure is admitted through the pipe 25 into the passages 27 and the outer ends of the cylinders 20 that the pistons 21 will be moved toward the center of the casing .3 and the piston rods 22 moving with the said piston and having their gear racks 23 in mesh with the pinion 19 of the sleeve 18 will rotate the 7 said sleeve. As the said sleeve rotates its thread meshing with the thread 10 upon the fixed member 8 will cause the said sleeve to move longitudinally along the said member at the same time the member 12 is held against rotation and its thread 13 being in engagement with the thread of the sleeve 18. The said member 12 is advanced with the sleeve and also moves longitudinally with relation to the same. The movement of the member 12 is imparted directly to the thrust pin t which operates :upon the movable member of the friction clutch through the intervening parts above described. Thus it will be seen that the sum total of the movement of the member 12 is equal to "the movement of the sleeve longitudinally along the member 8 and the movement of the said member 12 with relation to the said sleeve. This movement is ample to effectually engage the clutch members. It will also be seen that by reason of the disposition of the threads 10 and 13 in the sleeve 18 that the thrust pin i cannot retract its outward movement until the member 12 is moved toward the member 8 by reversing the operation above dc scribed. This is accomplished by admitting steam through the pipe 28 and passages v29 into the casing 3 when the said pressure will operate upon the inner sides of the pistons v21 and move the same away from the middle of the casing3. 7

At any convenient point is arranged a valve chamber or casing 30. including a port- 'ed base 31 and a cap or bonnet 32. The

40 mounted upon the top of the bonnet 32. The said handle is provided with a spring actuated pin 41 which is ada ted to engage depressions 42 provided in tie segment 40 for the purpose of holding the handle 39 at a shifted position as the valve disk is turned within the chamber. The disk 43 is mounted within the chamber 30 and rotates with the stem 38. The said disk is provided in its under side with a recess 44 which may be moved so as to bring the ports 35 and 34 in communication with the exhaust port 36, as illustrated in Fig. 9. When the disk is in this position the clutch operating mechanism is at rest. When however it is desired to admit steam into the outer ends of the cylinders 20 the disk 43 is turned so that the port 34 will be under the ledge 45 at the cut away portion of the periphery of the disk and the port 35 will still be under the recess 44 in the disk. This position of parts is illustrated in Fig. 10 when the steam pressure can pass through the port 34 and the port 35 is in communication with the exhaust 36 so that there will be no compression within the casing 3. When it is desired to admit steam pressure into the casing 3 the disk 43 is moved into the position as shown in Fig. 8 when the port 35 lies under the shelf portion 45 of the valve disk and consequently the steam may pass from the chamber through the said port into the easing 3. At the same time the disk is pro vided with a vent 46 which is adapted to move over the by-pass 47 and which admits a small quantity of steam from the interior of the chamber into the port 34. Thus a small quantity of steam is permitted to pass through the said port 34 and pipe 25 which steam forms a cushion in the outer ends of the cylinders 20 and prevents the pistons 21 from str'king with force against the ends of the said cylinders. This steam cushion is required when the pistons are moving outward for the reason that the operating mechanism is not at that time under a load, but the pistons do not require a cushion when moving in the opposite direction for the reason that during such movement the operating mechanism is under a load.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

1. In clutch operating mechanism, a casing, a stationary member, a relatively movable member, a fluid pressure actuated member connecting the stationary and movable members, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, and means for conrolling the admission and exhaust of an operating fluid.

2. In clutch operating mechanism, a casing, a stationary member, a relatively movable member, a fluid pressure actuated member connecting the stationary and movable members, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, means for admitting an operating fluid to the casing, and a ported valve for controlling the ad mission and exhaust of an operating fluid.

3. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons operatively connected with said members, means for admitting fluid to the pistons, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid.

4. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, a sleeve connecting said members and provided with a gear wheel, pistons operating within the casing and provided with racks meshing with the teeth on the gear wheel, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, means for admitting an operating fluid to the pistons,

and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of said operating fluid.

5. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively sta tionary and movable members disposed within the casing and threaded exteriorly in opposite directions, a correspondingly threaded sleeve connecting said members and provided with a peripheral gear, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons operating within the casing and provided with racks meshing with the teeth on the gear, means for admitting an operating fluid to the pistons, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid.

6. In clutch operatin mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, one of said members being provided with an extension adapted to engage a socket formed in the adjacent member, a revoluble sleeve connecting said men bers and provided with a peripheral gear, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons operating within the casing and provided with racks meshing with the teeth on the gear, means for supplying an operating fluid to the pistons, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid.

7. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casin secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, an operating sleeve connecting said members, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons disposed within the casing and operatively connected with the sleeve for actuating the latter, means for supplying fluid under pressure to the pistons for actuating the latter to operate the clutch device, means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the and provided With a peripheral gear, pistons operating Within the cylinders and provided with racks disposed on opposite sides of the gear and meshingwith the teeth of the latter,

means for supplying an operating fluid to the casing, and means for controlling the 'ad-mis- I sion and exhaust of the operating fluid.

9 In clutch operating mechanism, a shalt, 1

a casing secured to the shaft and provided with cylinders, across said "cylinders, reatively stationary ported d-ia hragms extendion casing, a clutch operating device actuated by Q the movable member, a sleeve connectingf said members, sleeve, pistons ders, racks carne-d by the pistons and mesha gear Wheel carried by the j operating Within the 'cylin-:

ing with the teeth on the gear, means for su j plying fluid to the pistons ing stroke of the latter, means for controlling the admission and exhaust to effect the Worhof the operat ing fluid, and means fora-forming a cushion at 1 the rear oi the pistons on the return strolie thereof.

1'0. In clutch operating mechanism, a

shaft, a casing secured vided With cylinders having fluid passages communicatingtherewith, relatively stationary and movable members disposed Within the casing, a clutch operating thrust pin actuated by the movable member, pistons Working Within the cylinders and operatively connected With said members for effecting the operation of the movable member, moans i'or supplying fluid through the iluid passages to actuate the pistons, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust oi' the operating fluid.

11, In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the sha'itand provided With cylinders, relatively statioI-rary and movable members disposed Within the casing, a pin connecting the stationary memher with the casing, a similar pin for prevents ing rotation of the movable member, a clutch operating thrust pin operated by the movable member, pistons Working Within the cylinder and operatively connected With said members, and means for controlling the ad mission and exhaust of an operating liuid.

12. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft and provided with cylinders, a ported diaphragm to the shaft and pro- I,

ported diap hers and provided with a 1 interior threads erases forming one end of each cylinder, there being ilui'd passa' es arranged on each side of the liragms, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, a rotatable sleeve con :ecting said memgear, pistons operating Within the cylinders and provided with racks meshing with t 'e teeth on the gear, a clutch operating thrust pin actuated by movable member, fluid conductors connected With the passages, and a port-ed valve for controlling the admission and exhaust of the fluid through said con ductors.

13-. In clutch operating mechanism, a

shaft having a threaded terminal, a cap on gaging the threads on the shaft and having its interior Walls threaded, a casing engaging of the cap and provided with cylinders, relatively stationary and iongitudinally movable members disposed With- 1e casing and provided with right and j l'c 'i t hand threaded portions, a sleeve engagand movable members arranged within the g the threads on said members and pro l'w-ith peripheral gear, pistons operating within the cylinders, racks carried by the pistons for engagement with the teeth on the gear, a clutch operating thrust pin extending through the shaft and actuated by the movable member, means for supplying an operating fluid to the pistons, and means for con trolling the admission and exhaust ofsaid operating liui-d,

1-4. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft and prof 'v id-ed cylinders, diaphragms disposed Within the casing, a relatively stationary member secured to one of the diaphragms and having a reduced extension, a rotatable and longitudinally movable member slida-bly mounted in an opening in the other diaphra'gm, said members being provided with right and left hand exterior threads, means for preventing rotation of the movable menn ber, a sleeve engaging the threads on said members and provided with a gear Wheel, pistons operating within the cylinders, racks carried by the pistons and engaging the teeth on the gear Wheel, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, means for supplying iluid to the interior of the casing, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid.

1-5. In clutch operating mechanism, a shalt, a casing secured to the shaft, a relat'ively-st'at-ionary exterior'ly threaded member disposed Within the casing, a longitudinally movable 'exteriorly threaded member oo-acting with the stationary member, a sleeve engaging the threads on said members, a clutch operating thrust pin actuated by the movable member, a gear secured to the sleeve, pistons operating within the casing and provided with racks for engagement with the teeth on the gear, mean-s ior locking the movable member against rotation, means for supplying fluid to tne pistons, and means for controlling the admission and exhaust of the fluid.

16. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons operatively connected with said members, means for supplying fluid to opposite sides of the piston, ported valve for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid, and a by-pass for permitting a relatively small quantity of fluid at the rear of the pistons on the outward stroke of the latter.

17. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons arranged within the casing and operatively connected with said members, there being fluid passages arranged at 'each end of the piston cylinders, a va ve casing having an exhaust port and provided with fluid conductors communicating with the fluid passages in the casing, a ported valve arranged within the valve casing for controlling the admission and exhaust of the operating fluid, and a by-pass for admitting a relatively small quantity of fluid to the rear of the pistons on the outward stroke of the latter.

18. In clutch operating mechanism, a shaft, a casing secured to the shaft, relatively stationary and longitudinally movable members disposed within the casing, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, pistons working within the casing and operatively connected with said members, a valve casing having an exhaust port and. provided with fluid conductors for supplying fluid to the pistons, a valve operating within the valve casing and provided with a port for controlling the admission and exhaust of the fluid through the conductors, and a by-pass forming a source of communication between one of the conductors and the interior of the valve casing for admitting a small quantity of fluid at the rear of the pistons on the outward stroke of the latter thereby to form a cushion.

19. In clutch operating mechanism, a oasing, stationary and movable members disposed within the casing, an actuating mem ber connecting the stationary and movable members, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, and means for operating the actuating member.

20. In clutch operating mechanism, a casin exteriorly threaded stationary and movab e members disposed within the casing, a correspondingly interiorly threaded actuating member engaging the threads on the stationary and movable members, a clutch operating device actuated by the movable member, and means for operating the actuating member.

21. In clutch operating mechanism, a casing, relatively stationary and movable alined telescopic members disposed within the easing, an actuating member connecting the stationary and movable members, a c utch operating device actuated by the movable member, and means for operating the actuating member.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HARRY LEON TURNEY.

Witnesses:

J. L. JENNINGS, O. E. MACK. 

